Running away
by artistxxx
Summary: We slowly rocked back and forth as he held me tight and whispered in my ear the lyrics to the song. "I'm latching on, babe, now I know what I have found, Now I got you in my space, I won't let go of you, Got you shackled in my embrace I'm latching on to you"
1. Chapter 1

Ally Dawson walked across the beach of Hawaii, wind blowing in her brunette hair, squinting her brown, doe eyes and the golden sun reflecting on her milky white skin. In her right hand she had her most prized possession, her song book/diary. She felt lonely, even though she did tell her best friend, Trish De La Rosa that she wanted some time on her own.

She sighed and sat on a deck chair, eyes focused on the sea and setting sun in front of her. It was perfect. Well, it would be more perfect if she had someone to share that perfect moment with. Ally just couldn't seem to understand. She was 21 years old and she only had a couple of boyfriends, but they weren't anything like what she wanted. She just wanted the perfect guy, was that so hard for fate to offer her?

But then again, she probably didn't want to meet a guy right now; she was on holiday right now and it would be a pain falling in love and then being ripped apart from the 'perfect guy'.

She thought it would be a good time to right down some lyrics, but to her dismay, nothing came to her. After all, how was she supposed to write about love songs when she hadn't actually experienced it herself? Ally had previously thought she was in love before and she crinkled her nose in disgust thinking of the memory.

*Flashback*

"Come on Ally, why won't you let me kiss you" The young boy asked.

"Look Ryan, I know we've been dating for a while now, but I, eerm" Truth was, Ally hadn't had her first kiss yet at the sweet innocent age of 16, but she wasn't about to tell Ryan that, even if they had been dating for a month now. Ally was brought out of her thoughts when chapped lips were against hers. She was shocked and disappointed. Ally was one of those true romantics, and always hoped that her first kiss would have been a little more special than this. It just didn't feel...right. It was too rushed or forced, yeah forced.

Ally didn't get it, she was head over heels crazy for him a few months ago, in love almost, and she thought it was a miracle when a guy like him asked her out. But when he kissed her, she was disgusted. He knew she wasn't ready and he still didn't wait. She didn't know why she was making a big deal about this, it was only a kiss.

But to Ally, it was different, this was her FIRST kiss. But he didn't seem to care. That's what she got for dating a player.

She backed away from him closing her eyes with a small frown on her face. She needed to get away from him. Ally looked up at Ryan with disappointment in her eyes.

"What's up Ally?" He asked, rather sarcastically if she may add.

Ally didn't say anything and resumed mute, before strolling into her house and slamming the door behind her loudly

*end of flashback*

Ever since that incident, Ryan was more like Ally's bully during her school life; Ally had never been able to forgive him. Why would she anyway? It wasn't like he said sorry or was going to, especially at the age of 21.

Something brought her out of her thoughts though. Did she hear that right? Was that a...gun shot? Whoever it was must've heard her because it happened again. She didn't know what to do, so she just got up and ran. Where? Anywhere.

She was beyond lost now and she didn't want to even think about going in the direction the guns were to the apartment. Then something caught her eye. A beach house. She peaked over her shoulder to make sure there was no one there. No one. She ran up to the beach house and knocked, even though it was a stranger's house, she needed somewhere to hide right? She stood there impatiently waiting for someone to open the door.

Austin's POV

I was sleeping on the couch when a noise awoke me from my dreams. My messy blonde hair was ruffled in my dark eyes. I stretched and got up. The door was knocking? Who would it be? Dez? Nah, he was at a family outing. I curiously opened the door wondering who it was.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw a beautiful young lady in her early 20's. Her curled brown hair flew nicely around her small face. The first thing I noticed about her was her soft, chocolate eyes that anyone could instantly melt into. This was what I was doing. I then looked at her small plump lips that formed into a relived smile.

My thoughts were interrupted by a gun shot. I instantly grabbed her small arm and pulled her inside.

"Sorry, but I heard the gun shots and got scared and this was the safest place to come" she said looking out of the window a bit scared. I smiled at her, she was so cute.

"It's fine" I replied in a soft voice, which is unusual for me, since I'm very cranky when I just wake up. Her eyes met mine again and she smiled at me, it was gorgeous.

"So..." She said a bit awkwardly. "What's your name?" she asked trying to make conversation.

"Austin Moon" I replied "and yours?"

"Ally Dawson"

Ally, everything about her was perfect.

Ally's POV

After a couple of moments, the door opened and a tall, handsome, blonde haired man opened the door. I looked up and we locked eyes for a moment before another gun shot was heard. I cringed and was about to ask if I could come in before he dragged me inside.

"Sorry, but I heard the gun shots and got scared and this was the safest place to come" I started rambling, looking out of the window to double check there was no weirdo outside, until he interrupted me.

"It's fine" he said in a soft voice. I smiled at how generous he was. It started to get a bit awkward though.

"So...What's your name?" I asked trying to make conversation.

"Austin Moon and yours?"

"Ally Dawson" I replied.

"So I was wondering..." I started "if you could give maybe give me a lift back home? It's just, I don't want to go back out there" I gulped.

"Eeerm, sure" he said hesitantly.

Austin's POV

Why didn't I want her to go? Oh well.

"Eeerm, sure" I replied picking up my car keys and slowly strolling up to the door, Ally following close behind.

"How long will it take to get there? I'm a bit lost" She piped up shyly. I on the other hand, found it adorable.

"Where do you live?" I asked curiously.

"Eerm, well I don't actually live here, I'm on holiday"

"Oh" I was really upset at the fact she didn't live here, but then again, I'll probably get over it.

"How long?"

"A month"

"Cool. Apartment?"

"Sunny hills"

Sunny hills was about 10 minutes away from here, I already knew where it was. We got to the door and I stopped her because I didn't know if the shooting was still going on. I slowly unlocked the door and grabbed her hand. She blushed and looked down which made me smile at her dorkiness. I peeped my head around the crack of the door.

Silence. Perfect.

I pulled us quickly outside and unlocked the door, making sure she went in first into the passenger seat and I followed her into the drivers. I locked the door and started up the car. It was a comfortable silence but I put the radio on anyway. Stay by Rihanna came on. I looked toward Ally and noticed she had fallen asleep. Could she get any cuter?

We arrived at Sunny hill and I gently shook Ally awake, she yawned looking up at me and giggling, which made me laugh.

"How long was I out?"

"Not long"

"Shall we go?"

I frowned at the fact of her leaving me and mumbled a quick sure. I grabbed her hand and walked her to her apartment. She knocked and a curly haired Latina opened the door.

"Hey Trish" Ally greeted, before explaining the whole situation to Trish, who had an eyebrow raised through the entire thing.

"I better be going then" I piped up sadly.

"Oh yeah, bye Austin" I was about to walk away until she brought me into bear hug. "Thanks for helping me"

"Hey, I'd do it again. It was no problem" I mumbled into her hair. Her strawberry shampoo shooted up my nostrils. It made me hold onto her closer.

"Bye Austin" She flashed me one of her beautiful smiles, and walked inside with Trish. I sighed and walked away.

"Goodbye Ally" I said to myself.

**A/N Yeah this is my first story, so please can you review this and give me some feedback? Please? Was the chapter long enough, tell me if it wasn't. Oh and do you want me to continue with it? Up to guys.**

**Thanks and please review xx**

**artistxxx**


	2. Chapter 2

Ally's POV

I walked inside the apartment with Trish asking a million questions wondering who Austin was, but I just ignored them. Instead, I watched Austin drive away from our apartment.

"ALLY!"

"What?!" I shouted rather annoyed.

"Who is he?" She asked rolling her eyes.

"Just someone who helped me get back home, that's all" I replied looking back out of the window to see Austin was gone.

"Whatever" She stated clearly giving up on the conversation. "I'm just happy you're ok"

I smiled at her; Trish was one of those over protective friends that have always got your back, even if you don't need it. She flipped on the small TV and turned to the news channel.

"Gregory Johnson has been arrested for threatening a shopkeeper with a gun. The shop was located on Main Street towards the beach. He tried shooting, but missed several times"

I was so relieved. At least it's safe to go back to the beach now. Trish seemed pretty relieved too, mostly because I think she was just looking forward to a tan. I went upstairs to take a shower. It had been a long day. I turned on the hot water and relaxed as it soothed my skin. I left my hair damp and stepped out of the shower.

Noticing the sudden cold air around me, I put my white fluffy towel around my body. I put another towel around my head, shaking it and trying to get all the water droplets to disappear. I looked at my bed and sighed at how warm it looked. I hopped in and went to sleep.

Austin's POV

I drove back to my house. I was bored so I put the radio on.

"Gregory Johnson has been arrested for threatening a shopkeeper with a gun. The shop was located on Main Street towards the beach. He tried shooting, but missed several times"

That must've been the shooting I heard before. Relieved, I carried on driving home and after 10 minutes I arrived at my house. I yawned and opened the door, throwing the car keys onto the dining table. Dez was already in and well out on the couch. I decided to call it a day and just go to bed.

Ally's POV

_Black. That's all I could see. Black. I tried opening my eyes, but nothing happened. I tried moving but I couldn't. My whole body was limp. Where was I? Why couldn't I move? Suddenly, I felt a pang of pain shoot through my chest, as a draft of cold wind blew through me. And then I realized, I had been shot._

_I was scared what was happening?_

_"Is she going to be alright?" I heard a familiar weak voice sob._

_"I honestly don't know, we're waiting for results"_

_"Ally please open your eyes, please? You can't leave me now, we've been threw everything together" Another feminine voice pleaded._

_Then it all went white. Not black, white. I saw someone's hand reach out for mine in the middle of nowhere. And then I heard a faint long beeping noise in the background, as well as a loud scream and sob. More like a scream to be honest._

I shot out of bed sweating and panting. I looked around my surroundings and noticed I was in my bedroom. It was all just a dream...

I stood up and walked downstairs to get a drink of water. It trickled down my throat which was extremely dry. I sat down on my chair and tried to control my breathing. _It was all just a dream..._

**A/N. Do you like it? I appreciate the reviews thank you to Teshia14 for giving me your honest thoughts. I'll see how far this story goes. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter in your reviews.**

**artistxxx**


	3. Chapter 3

Austin's POV

"Austin. Austin! AUSTIN!"

"Huh, what? Oh, hi Dez" I greeted before shutting my eyes again and lying back down into my cozy, warm blankets. I was extremely tired since I was working all night on a song. But as usual, I failed. It's weird, I was a really good singer but I was terrible at song writing. I was drifting off again until -

SPLASH!

Cold water hit my face and dripped its way down my body which used to be warm from the covers. Now it was just shaking wet. I shot up in bed and opened my eyes whilst blinking a couple of times to process what just happened.

I noticed Dez with a glass (an empty glass) hovering over me with a smug look on his face. I, on the other hand, was in a freezing cold bed with water droplets dripping off of my shaggy hair.

My shocked face immediately transformed into an angry glare as I got out of bed; not taking my eyes off of Dez.

"That always works." Dez grinned at me laughing.

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind" I replied glaring at him whilst I grabbed my towel. Dez just looked confused for a second, but just simply shrugged it off and walked out of the room. I decided to take a warm shower. My muscles relaxed too the nice, hot water and got rid of all the goose bumps.

When I finished getting ready, I walked into the kitchen to find Dez talking to somebody on the phone. I just ignored him and went to make my breakfast - pancakes.

"Your here? Now? As in, in Hawaii? Do you want me to tell Aus - why not?" I overheard Dez on the phone. Who was he talking too? I peeped my head around the corner and began walking up to him.

"A surprise? Are you sure this is a good -_ AUSTIN_!" Dez exclaimed looking at wide eyed. I gave him a confused look. I don't think he realized I was here.

"Who's on the phone?" I asked trying to grab it.

"No one. Gotta go bye!" He said the last bit down the phone before hanging up quickly. Okay then? I knitted my eyebrows at him to show just how confused I was. But instead of meeting my eyes, he looked down and walked towards the pancakes.

"Ahh, you made pancakes" Dez exclaimed obviously trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, they were supposed to be mine, but I guess I can share" I laughed. He quickly obliged, grabbing half the pancakes.

"Hey, we should do something today, we haven't had a lot of time to hang out lately" he offered shoving a load of pancakes into his mouth. I had to grab at least one before they vanished.

"Yeah, I guess your right" I replied. Lately, I had been stuck in the house trying to write at least one song, so I've not really been going out lately. And since Dez's mother was sick last week, he hadn't been in much. "I say we go to the beach today" I finished grabbing the last two pancakes onto my plate.

"Cool, I'll go get packed, you can clear this up" he nodded towards the table signaling me to do the dishes (even though I didn't get to eat hardly any of them). I sighed and nodded my head, mumbling a quick alright.

5 minutes later

"You ready to go?" He asked grabbing the car keys.

"Yup" I said popping the p.

"Let's go then" he replied walking out of the door and jogging over to our car. He got inside and waited for me to make my way over.

Once I got in, he got the car going. I stared out of the window. It's something I've been doing a lot lately with the window down. It really clears your thoughts and I'd had a lot to think about lately. I watched the blur of green shoot past me as I began to get dizzy by the quick moving trees. I shook my head and instead focused on the road ahead.

"You okay man?" Dez asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I lied.

"You sure about that?" He questioned raising his eyebrows; not moving his eyes away from the road. Dez was a very cautious driver.

"I'm just getting a little bored, y'know? Nothing much exciting happens around these days. Just the same old, same old." I explained to him. He probably thought I was depressed.

"I know what you mean, but I'm pretty sure something exciting is going to happen soon" he replied simply. Something told me he knew something I didn't, and then I thought about the conversation this morning. I raised my eyebrow at him and turned to look at him.

"How can you be so sure about that?" I asked curiously.

"Just have a feeling, y'know? It's like when people sense that something bad is going to happen." He answered smiling.

I was confused, but I kept my mouth shut and just watched the cars go by.

When we arrived, I layed out my stripy towel and put my sunglasses on. I watched Dez out of the corner of my eye, staring at the sea. I looked at him and followed his gaze, to meet a girl. He was staring at a girl. But then I realized, it wasn't just any girl, it was Trish.

And that's when I saw her, Ally Dawson, sat on a deck chair, smiling and grinning at her best friend. She was wearing her big sunglasses on and a yellow bikini. I gulped hard. What was she doing here? Oh yeah, she was on holiday. I carried on observing her, watching as her brown locks fell off of her shoulder as she laughed hard because Trish made a joke. I couldn't hear her laugh, and I hadn't heard it yet either. I smiled.

I glanced back at Dez who was already stood up and walking towards them. I was going to follow, but I wanted to wait until Dez came back first. I watched him as he began talking to them, obviously saying some cheesy pickup line. I noticed Trish blush and look down whilst Ally smiled at the two of them.

Then, Dez said something else, pointing towards me. I pretended I wasn't watching them through my sunglasses. Ally followed Dez's gaze where he was pointing. Immediately she noticed me and was in shock. The smile fell off of her face as she asked Dez something else. She stood up to make her way over when -

"AUSTIN! OVER HERE"

I shut my eyes and cursed under my breath. I recognized the voice, and it was defiantly not Ally's...


	4. Chapter 4

Austin's POV

"Cassidy" I grinned through gritted teeth, trying to sound enthusiastic. "When did you get back?"

She batted her long lashes and wrapped her long, blonde hair around her pointer finger. "Didn't Dez tell you? She looked over at Dez still talking to Trish. I followed her glance, noticing Ally had sat back down.

I looked back at her as she did the same to me. "I got back a couple days ago, and I just couldn't wait to see you!" She replied looking more enthusiastic than me, clapping her perfectly manicured hands giddily.

I was a bit confused with her answer. Why did she want to see me? We had already broken up.

"Why?" I asked confused. I didn't mean to offend her, but I felt guilty when I saw the slight glint of hurt fill her features.

"Well...um, yeah about that" she started "I thought we could, y'know, give us another go?" She asked nervously more in the form of a question. I tried looking everywhere but her big, brown, hopeful eyes.

"Eeerm..." I trailed off, but Cassidy seemed to get the hint because she interrupted.

"No, no, it doesn't matter, I was stupid to ask that" she looked down upset. I instantly felt like I'd kicked a puppy.

"We can hang out later if you want?" I asked. She looked back up at me as hope glazed her eyes once again.

"Sure, I'd love too" she replied happily grinning. "I'll meet you at 7". I nodded my head to show her I understood and I was going along with it.

"Great it's sorted then" she brought me into a bear hug, nuzzling her nose into the crook of my neck. I looked at Dez who was doubled over laughing. I glanced at Trish with her shoulders bobbing up and down slightly giggling. Then I looked Ally, who gave me a small friendly smile. I smiled back, and then shot Dez a glare.

I pulled back and told Cassidy I had to go.

"Sure, see you at 7" she waved and walked off shooting me a flirty smile.

I kicked the sand as I walked towards Dez. Then I realized, he was on the phone to her this morning and this was his way of saying 'I have a feeling something exciting is going to happen'. I frowned; I thought Dez was the sort of friend who didn't keep secrets.

"Hey" I exclaimed when I got there, looking at Ally. When she heard me, she looked up from her book and smiled.

"Hey, fancy seeing you here" she giggled marking her page by folding it over.

"Do you two know each other?" Dez asked quizzically, looking between the two of us in confusion.

"Yeah, we met a couple of days ago" Ally answered looking at him, smiling to herself at the memory.

"Okay. Eeerm" he stopped mid-sentence trying to control his giggles by putting his hand over his mouth "what did Cassidy want?" He finally asked looking at me again.

"She wants to get back together" I dead panned. Dez burst out laughing. Trish and Ally looked like he was crazy.

"And, eerm what did you say?" He asked again looking at me again. He was being a jerk.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Now I have to go out with her at 7" Dez opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off. "As friends".

"Sorry buddy, but she wanted to surprise visit you, and I guess I didn't wanna ruin the surprise" I sighed and looked away towards the sun.

"Whatever, I'm getting a drink" I kicked the sand and started to walk away. I wasn't the only one who was thirsty though.

"Oh yeah, hey Ally can you get me a drink too? I'm parched" she sighed dramatically.

"Trish-"

"Please?"

Ally sighed and put her sunglasses on.

"Fine, I guess I'm coming with you Austin" she smiled at me and I smiled back. I looked back at Trish who started blushing and looking down embarrassed. Dez was flirting with her.

I walked away from the couple with Ally and made our way to the shop. It was quiet for the first few moments. Just the sound of little kids laughing, waves of the sea and the annoying screeching of seagulls. Ally decided to break the silence.

"So" she started. "Who's this Cassidy?" She asked. I really didn't want to tell her to be honest.

"Why do you wanna know?" I asked her regretting it instantly when her eyes flashed with hurt. So I decided to finish my sentence. "I mean, are you really interested? Or just trying to be polite?" I asked trying to make my voice to sound calm. I had one too many surprises today.

"I'm truly interested" she replied. I was quiet; I was trying to think of me and Cassidy's relationship myself. "So are you going to tell me?" She asked.

"Oh sorry, I have a lot on my mind" I answered truthfully. "She's my ex. We broke up when she moved away from Hawaii. It gets a bit boring when you're here for a while". It does, I should know. "But then she came back today. I had no idea she was either. Dez knew, but wanted to keep it a surprise" I answered putting emphasis on the word 'surprise'.

"Shouldn't you be happy she's back? I mean, wasn't you sad when she left?" She asked. Why so many questions.

"I guess you could say I was thinking about breaking up with her, and I suppose her moving away was an excuse. But now she's back, she wants to get back together. I just told her I wanted to be friends." I answered.

We had reached the shop as I walked through the door. Ally remained quiet. I don't know why I was telling her about all of this. I also didn't know why she was interested.

"Eerm, two bottles of water please" I asked. He reached down the counter and came back up pulling out two bottles of water. I pulled out two dollars to pay for the water, but when I went to pay, Ally's hand brushed past mine.

"I'll pay" I stated to her giving the man the two dollars.

"You shouldn't have to pay for Trish's" she replied walking out of the shop with me.

"Neither should you" I said knowingly. She laughed at my cheeky grin and walked in front.

When we got back, Trish and Dez were gone.

"Where'd they go?" Ally asked pouting looking around. I frowned knowing Dez probably took Trish to my house. Just in case, I pulled out my phone and dialed Dez's number.

"Hey man" he answered cheerily on the other end of the phone.

"Where are you?" I asked. Ally heard my on the phone and looked at me confused.

"Oh, we just went to get something to eat" I sighed.

"Did you take the car?" I needed a ride home; it had been a long day.

"Yeah, sorry, wait just a sec" I heard muffled voices on the other end of the phone as I looked back at Ally. She was sat on the deck chair writing in a leather bound book. I was going to ask what it was when Dez started talking again.

"Trish said that Ally might be able to give you a lift"

"Ally?"

"Yeah"

"Right, whatever, bye"

I hung up the phone and walked towards Ally. She noticed my presence and looked up at me with big, brown eyes.

"They went to get something to eat" I stated. She nodded and carried on writing in her book. I handed her the other water that Trish was supposed to have. She smiled gratefully and took a sip.

"What are you writing in?" I asked peeping over her shoulder. She slammed it shut quickly.

"It's my eerm, songbook/diary/journal into one" she answered looking down. She wrote songs?

"You write songs?" I asked quizzically.

"Eerm, yeah" she replied quickly taking a sip out of her water bottle. It started to get dark and chilly. I looked around and there weren't much people on the beach now. I glanced back at her.

"That's interesting, since I can't write a song at all" I laughed nervously. "I can sing and all but song writing is just my weak spot".

"Oh, it's really not hard. All you have to do is have some inspiration" she smiled at me. She shivered and got up. "We shut probably get home, its dark".

She looked up at the now black sky, accompanied with a big bright moon and a millions small stars. I looked up and grinned, laughing. Ally noticed and looked back down.

"What's so funny?" She asked smiling.

"I forgot to ask you. Do you think you could maybe give me a lift? Dez took the car and Trish said that would you would". She giggled remembering the last time we had an encounter like this, where she was getting chased by a guy with a gun and needed help getting home.

The moon glowed around her face making her face even more bright and angelic.

"Course I will, it's not like I can say no. I owe you". She said smiling.

"We should get going, I almost forgot at 7 I need to be ready for Cassidy."

She frowned and nodded walking towards her car. I hope this date with Cassidy will go well.

**A/N ****I just realized that I didn't put an Authors note in my last paragraph. Oh well. Anyway, I'm sorry it's a little late, but I am back in school now and I have a lot of assessments coming up, so don't blame me if it might be a little late. Review?**

**artistxxx**


	5. Chapter 5

Austin's POV

I sat at the table in the diner impatiently waiting for Cassidy. It was 7:20 and she STILL wasn't here yet. I sighed annoyed and was about to get up until she walked in. Cassidy liked to call it 'fashionably late'. She did look awfully pretty though, I had to admit. Now I felt bad for not making an effort. Dez insisted on dressing me up but I refused.

It wasn't like I was trying to impress her was it?

Dez gets excited over these things way to easily. I knocked myself back into reality and noticed Cassidy's eyes were roaming the whole room until they landed on mine. Her mouth quickly formed into a smile as she jogged over towards the table I was seated at.

"Hey" she exclaimed sitting down and putting her handbag onto her lap looking across at me; acting as if everything was normal and she was perfectly on time.

"Hi, what took you so long?" I asked raising my eyebrow and taking a sip of my drink.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, am I late?" She replied with her eyes going wide and panic written across her face.

"20 minutes actually" I said putting my drink down. Cassidy groaned and face palmed herself.

"Sorry, I was talking with Dez" she explained. Dez? What is it with her and Dez? I was beginning to grow suspicious.

They were hiding something.

"What were you talking to Dez about?" I questioned her. She looked up at me and faked a laugh looking back down again at her fingers.

"Oh, y'know... Just catching up"

"Catching up?"

"But I haven't seen him in ages"

"But you hated the guy"

Cassidy shifted uncomfortably in her seat; turning to look out of the windows. I know Cassidy always used to look outside the windows to calm her. I liked raindrops too. They would just slide down the window with no obstacles for the 15 seconds of their life. I wish life was a raindrop.

She sighed and looked back at me.

"What can I say? He's changed" she grabbed her mobile and handbag and stood up. I looked at her puzzled as she put her pink hood up.

"Where are you going?" I asked standing up as well.

"You mean where we are going" she stated.

"We?"

"Yeah we" she responded mocking me. She tilted her head towards the soaked beach.

"So let me get this straight" I laughed and held my hand out "we are going out there?" I pointed outside the window. It was really raining now. I mean, I loved the beach but I had already been today and it was raining.

"C'mon, I love the rain. It's so relaxing"

"I don't like the rain" I lied "the old you hated getting your hair messed up.

"A girl can change. Anyway I have a hood" she motioned to her hood and turned to walk out. I rolled my eyes and ran to catch up with her.

"Change?"

"Yes change. It's a part of life Austin" she replied as if stating the obvious.

As soon as I stepped outside it was freezing. I looked back at my seat and was tempted to go back. Her soft hand grabbed mine as she walked towards the beach. The worst part was I didn't even have a hood and I hated when my hair got ruined.

Wow that sounded girly.

"Is this the first time you've walked in the rain?" I wondered aloud.

"No" she answered simply. That was it. I raised my eyebrow. This girl has defiantly changed since she left. In a good way. Before she left, she was such a snob. A diva. She hated anyone seeing her without makeup on, including me. Her hair had to be perfect and if anyone messed it up she would kill them. She complained about going to the park because it would mess up her shoes. Or the time when she refused to sit on the grass when we were having a picnic. She complained about everything.

Now I can't believe what I'm seeing.

"What happened to you when you left? You've changed"

I noticed how she went silent from her endless chatting. She held her head down not wanting to answer the question.

"Do I have to answer? I don't want to talk about it" her hair was starting to get wavy from the rain.

"Come on, you can trust me" I told her as I stopped walking.

She sighed and stopped walking too. She was defiantly uncomfortable. I knew if for a fact when she looked up at the sky watching the raindrops. She decided to sit down in a deck chair. She closed her eyes as if she was trying to remember it herself.

That's when I realized that she was sat in the exact place where Ally was before. I smiled at the memory. Cassidy's speaking brought me out of my thoughts as I sat next to her. It was weird sitting in the pouring rain on the beach.

"I was angry when you left me" she paused silently debating whether to continue or not. "I was a mess. It was like I had to have a boyfriend in order to be happy. So what did I do? I got one. It was great at first. I actually thought I loved him. He started to get really annoyed if I forgot simple things. I didn't think much about it but then he got worse. I ran. He's coming Austin to find me" she broke down in tears and I wrapped my arms around her in a comforting hug.

"I changed because I didn't want to be anything like Ryan"

**A/N : Does that ring a bell? That last bit? And oh my gosh you guys I owe you a HUGE apology for leaving you that long, anyway here's the chapter. Don't worry Austin doesn't like Cassidy. I will defiantly try to update quicker! Thanks for reading and review.**

**artistxxx**


	6. Chapter 6

Ally's POV

"What do you mean we're going to Dez and Austin's house?" I asked Trish surprised.

"That we're going to their house. How much more simple do you want me to make it?" She replied rolling her eyes whilst updating her profile on twitter.

"But I don't wanna" I whined kicking my feet like a spoilt child having a tantrum. I was currently lay across the sofa watching a TV programme.

"Fine. You've left me no choice. If you don't get up right now, I will..." She looked around wondering what she could do to get me off the sofa.

Then she spotted my brown leather book sitting on the table. Suddenly her eyes lit up like a light bulb went off in her head. My eyes went wide as I realized what she was about to do; I quickly scrambled up as she held her pointer finger towards it.

"I'll touch your book" she stated matter of factly.

"You wouldn't" I told her squinting my eyes.

"I think we both know I would" she singed the last part. She took a step forwards.

"Fine, I'll go" I finally said giving up. Without thinking she smiled grabbing my book and throwing it to my chest.

"Good, let's go" she turned and walked towards the door.

"Don't touch my book" I whispered under my breath as I stood up and walked towards the door.

Austin's POV

The drive home was uncomfortably quiet and the streets were awfully empty. I took a quick glance at Cassidy in the passenger's seat to see that she was still looking at the raindrops on the window. Her finger was tracing a specific raindrop sliding down the glass.

She was deep in thought; I could tell.

"Do you want something to eat? You didn't eat much back there" I asked her more for my sake than hers because my stomach was rumbling.

"Where am I going to stay?" She wondered aloud completely ignoring my question.

"I suppose I could talk to Dez -"

"- Dez?" She asked looking at me like she realized something.

"Uh, yeah. You might be able to stay at our place for a while" I explained to her as she turned her head back to the raindrops.

"Oh. Eeerm thanks" she said shifting looking a little uncomfortable.

"Is that a problem?" I asked as I turned down my street.

"No of course not"

"Oh" I was hoping she could tell me something.

I stopped the car to a halt when we reached our house. I turned my head to Cassidy to see her smiling.

"I remember this place so well, it still looks the same"

I laughed and said "we should get inside". And with that, I opened the car door.

Ally's POV

Knock. Knock. Knock

I looked up at the familiar big brown door whilst Trish was rocking back and forth on her toes. Suddenly, we heard the door unlock and open to a well-known red head.

"Hey Trish" a wide smile formed on his lips as he saw her. "And Ally" he quickly added as if he just realized I was here.

"Hi Dez" me and Trish replied at the same time; Trish noticed and gave me a look as I rolled my eyes at her possessive behavior.

"Come on in" he opened the door a little wider so we could step in. A smile graced my lips as I looked around the familiar surroundings. My smile grew even bigger when I remembered the moment we had on the beach earlier on today. I mean, it was a moment right?

"What are you looking so happy about?" Dez asked quizzically bringing me out of my thoughts and back to reality. Then my smile vanished and turned into a frown when I realized he was on a date with another girl. Well, he didn't say it was a date.

"Nothing" I quickly muttered turning, turning around to sit on the couch. Maybe it was possible that I liked him a little, but it's nothing huge so what's there to be worried about?

It has been 2 hours now and I'm getting a little tired to be honest. Trish and Dez are in deep conversation and I can't help but feel like the third wheel. I'm sat on the couch currently flicking through all the channels that Dez and Austin have trying to find a repeat of what I was watching before I got dragged here. But the sound of a car pulling up causes me to jump up and look through the window whilst Trish and Dez stop in mid conversation to look at me.

I see two figures walking to the door and I hear a quick knock. Knock. Knock.

"Would you mind answering that? It looks like Austin's home." Dez asked me lazily.

"And Cassidy by the looks of it" I frown walking to the door.

"Who-" Trish started

"Cassidy?" Dez cut her off.

"Yeah"

Dez quickly shot out of his chair and scratched the back of his neck. "Oh, well in that case I better do it"

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"COMING!"

"Come on man I forgot my keys!"

I took a quick glance at Trish to see her shooting death glares into the back of Dez's head. I elbowed her and mouthed 'stop it' as Dez unlocked the door. I heard a faint conversation coming through the wall.

"What are they saying?" Trish whisper - shouted. I pressed my ear against the wall and carefully listened.

"Geez man what took you so long? I forgot my keys"

"Sorry! Ally and Trish are here"

"Ally's here?"

"And Trish"

"Oh right"

"Anyway, why is Cassidy Here?"

"Sorry, I, um, didn't have a place to stay for tonight"

"So she's staying here"

I took my ear away from the wall hearing enough and looked at Trish.

"So?" She asked growing impatient.

"I think Cassidy's staying the night here" I said giving her an answer.

"WHAT!" She shouted, eyes going wide which caused Dez to come running in the room.

"What's up?" Dez asked squinting his eyes at us.

"Who's staying the night?" Trish asked clearly annoyed tapping her foot against the floor.

"Just one of Austin's friends"

That's when Cassidy chose the moment to walk in with Austin following closely behind. Austin and glanced at me and smiled.

"Hi" I greeted them both.

"Hey Ally" he replied enthusiastically coming to sit next to me. I looked at Cassidy to find her eyeing me up and down. I felt uncomfortable so I glanced at Trish who was glaring at Cassidy with jealousy.

"If she's staying, we're staying. Right Ally?"

Everyone turned to look at me. This was going to be a long night...

**A/N So I know I haven't updated in like, 2 months, but I am trying guys. I am going to try to update more regularly because I have just got a good idea for the next few chapters. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this and please review. Thank you.**

**artistxxx**


	7. Chapter 7

_**"If she's staying, we're staying. Right Ally?"**_

_**Everyone turned to look at me. This was going to be a long night...**_

Everybody was looking at me expecting an answer. I awkwardly coughed and stood up. "Trish I don't think this is such a good idea..." I explained pointedly to her hoping she would get my point. But she just shrugged it off with a wave of her hand.

"Nonsense, Ally. I'm not leaving my _boyfriend-"_

"-And Austin" Austin cut in offended.

"Yeah whatever. I'm not leaving my boyfriend with her" Trish whispered to me angrily. "And anyway, I think Cassidy might like a bit of girl time, right?" She exclaimed a bit louder this time turning to Cassidy.

Cassidy shifted awkwardly on her feet. "Actually, I'm kind of tired. I hope you don't mind" She replied looking at Trish. But apparently that wasn't the right answer for Trish.

"Come on, I haven't had a proper girls night in ages. Plus, it looks like us three could become really close friends" She fake smiled.

"Well, I guess -"

"Great! Dez, could you get my stuff from home please?"

Oh _fantastic._ I'm spending the night with one of Austin's ex's. Well this couldn't be more awkward. I was jerked out of my thoughts when a hand pulled me back down in my seat. I tilted my head to see a wide eyed Austin. "Ally, I don't know about this"

"Yeah, neither do I"

"Look, I know Trish is a bit-" he paused trying to find the right word; I couldn't help but laugh at his expression as he thought. "-overpowering". I nodded agreeing with him. "So, you need to make sure she doesn't ask Cassidy anything too overwhelming." I furrowed my eyebrows in disbelief. Me? Why _me?_

"Austin-"

"Please" he looked at me pleadingly.

"Fine, but as soon as its morning I'm going home. Don't be expecting me to become bff's with her."

"Thanks Ally" He squeezed my hand for emphasis and looked back up to see Trish arguing with Dez.

"Why don't you like the idea?" She asked Dez annoyed. Cassidy and Dez exchanged worried glances before looking back at a fuming Trish.

"I don't" He stated unbelievably.

"Good, let's go" she started to walk up the stairs and Cassidy looked at Dez uncertain. I looked back at Austin who gave me a reassuring smile and thumbs up, which I returned not so enthusiastically. I sighed; I was right. This _is _going to be a long night.

**2 hours later**

We have currently just finished watching the _wedding diaries_ which Dez had stored in his basement. I think him and Austin must've watched it. I giggled inwardly to myself as the credits rolled onto the screen.

"Soooo" Trish started which caused me and Cassidy to look at her at the sudden outburst. "What should we do now?" I was about to say go to bed when suddenly a light bulb went off in her head and she snapped her fingers becoming pleased with herself. "I've got it, Truth or Dare".

I turned to Cassidy to see her looking worried which made me turn to Trish. "Are you sure, it's pretty late. We should be getting to bed" I asked trying to nod to Cassidy but Trish didn't get the idea. Cassidy quickly nodded in agreement. "I agree" she faked a yawn. "That movie _really_ tired me out"

"You girls are such party poopers. We are having a game of truth or dare"

_It's fine Ally, as long as she doesn't ask too many personal questions_. My inner self said.

"Chill, it will be fine. We won't start off too hard. Cassidy-" She turned her body toward Cassidy as she got herself prepared for the question. "-Truth or Dare?" Cassidy looked at me for help and I mouthed _Truth_ to her. I don't think Austin and Dez would appreciate us doing dares the first night we spent here. She exhaled loudly and looked Trish dead in the eye.

"_Truth_"

"Okay, we'll start off simple. When is your birthday?" Trish asked secretly hating that she had to ask such a boring question. Cassidy smiled and was about to reply, but not before Austin popped his head in.

"Austin what are you doing? You're supposed to knock first!" Cassidy exclaimed folding her arms across her chest. "What is one of us were getting dressed."

Austin rolled her eyes at what a drama queen she was being. "Relax; I just came up here to bring you some hot chocolate" He said placing the mugs down on the dresser.

"Anyway" Trish interrupted as I nudged her for being so rude. "Answer please?"

"Oh yeah, it's this Sunday. I'm having a party at the beach; you should all come" She smiled at Trish warmly. Okay maybe she wasn't _that _bad.

"Really?" Me and Austin asked before looking at each other.

"Yeah, the more the merrier right? I'll give you the details in the morning." She said checking her planner on her phone.

"Great. Now Austin could you please leave, your ruining the game." Trish stated shooing him away with her hand. Austin scrunched his face up in confusion.

"What game?"

"Truth or Dare"

_"Truth or Dare?"_ He looked at me in disbelief. _Don't worry,_ I mouthed.

"Yes. Now shoo" Trish said again turning to Cassidy. _I'm counting on you,_ he mouthed back before shutting the door quietly behind him.

They both turned to me and I immediately got worried. "Truth or Dare?" Cassidy asked sweetly. I thought for a moment. It was probably best to go with Truth right? Right.

"Truth"

"Okay" Cassidy stopped to think about the question; looking up in midair. It seemed ages. And I HATE being put on the spot. A shot of glimmer flashed in her eyes as if she has finally got it. "Do you think Austin Moon is attractive?" The second she said _attractive_ my face started burning up. _Way to go Dawson. Make it completely obvious._

"Well? We're waiting." Trish asked impatiently.

"Well _yeah_ I guess" I replied looking down at my hands nervously. I heard a squeal of excitement come from Trish and Cassidy was staring at me intensely as if she was trying to read my mind. She shook her head as if trying to shake the thoughts out of her head.

"It doesn't mean anything though. We're leaving in a couple of weeks. _Remember?"_

**Austin's POV**

I came into the kitchen and realization came over that I left the marshmallows on the counter top. I grabbed them and quickly jogged up the stairs not wanting to upset Cassidy about her 'rules' again. As I got to the door my hand reached for the door knob but something stopped be dead in my tracks.

"Do you think Austin Moon is attractive?" I heard Cassidy say. It went silent and I knew they were expecting an answer off the girl who was asked. But all I heard was silence.

"Well? We're waiting" I heard Trish ask. That could only mean one thing. Ally was answering it! But I could still only hear silence. Then suddenly "well yeah I guess" My heart started beating uncontrollably and I had a smile on my face ear to ear. But then I heard something that shattered everything. "It doesn't mean anything though. We're leaving in a couple of weeks. Remember?" Reality came crashing down onto me as I knew Ally was going to end up leaving. Realizing that they were moving onto the next question, I walked downstairs with a frown on my face forgetting all about the marshmallows that were probably dropped somewhere.

Ally _likes_ me.

But we _can't _be in a relationship.

I have never felt so disappointed in my life.

**Ally's POV**

"You don't live here?" Cassidy asked confused. I was about to open my mouth to reply but Trish beat me to it.

"Nope" She replied simply popping the p. "Anyway, let's get back to the game" Trish stated enthusiastically clapping her hands together. I looked at Trish to see her looking at me expectantly. Oh right.

"Truth or Dare?"

"Dare" She answered without hesitation. I heaved a sigh thinking about what I could get her to do. After a couple of seconds Cassidy speaks up for me. "Prank call Dez"

"Yeah what she said"

"You guys are too easy" She laughed picking up her phone and dialing his number making sure that she had it was on unknown. It was 1am in the morning so I was pretty sure he was in bed. After a few dials, a groggy voice picked up on the other line.

"Hello?"

"Hello, we just rang you up to tell you that your pizza is ready to collect" Trish faked trying to put on a fake Italian accent.

"I never ordered a pizza -

- Dez it's just the girls pranking you. Now can you _please_ turn it off speaker?"

We heard Austin on the other side of the phone. I felt a bit bad for him; we had taken his bedroom and he had to sleep on the floor in Dez's room.

"Haha Trish. Hilarious. Now can you go to bed?!" With that he hung up in the next room.

I hate getting in trouble and I felt really sleepy now. "Maybe Dez is right; we should just go to bed." I started to get up until Trish dragged me back down.

"Just one more _please_?"

"NO. I am going to bed" With that I got into Austin's bed. I instantly fell in love with it. It was so comfortable and it smelt like him. Like _Austin._

"Whatever. Come on Cassidy one more." I heard faintly before I closed my eyes.

"Fine"

"Truth or Dare?"

"Truth" She must be sticking to my tactic.

"Who was your latest boyfriend?"

_Silence._

"Well?"

"Eeerm, I'd rather not talk about that" I heard her say with her voice wavering a bit. I quickly opened my eyes to see Trish waiting for an answer. I could see Cassidy's eyes welling up and I instantly felt so _stupid_ for leaving Trish alone with Cassidy.

"Was it Dez?"

"No"

"Trish! Leave her alone if she doesn't want to answer it."

"No, she chose Truth. Was it Austin?"

"No!" I was a bit surprised with the sudden outburst. So she met someone after Austin. Maybe she's over him.

"Then who was it?!"

"Trish!"

"It was a boy called Ryan okay? Ryan hunting"

I stopped dead in my tracks to look at Cassidy...

**A/N: Cliff hanger. I'm going to work on the next chapter tomorrow. Sorry for the long wait, but it's the six week holidays now so it will be updated more often for now. You know what to do. Review please xx**

**artistxxx**


	8. Chapter 8

Ally's POV

Did she just say..._Ryan Hunting? _My hands trembled furiously remembering the way he used to treat me as my eyes stared blankly at the floor.

**"Hey! Look who it is everyone! It's Ally Dawson!" Laughter filled the hallways I scrambled for my books and gathered them up in my arms to have them pushed back down again. "Where do you think you're going Dawson?" He sniggered in my ear.**

**"History class" I whispered avoiding eye contact.**

**"I don't think so. You're coming with me" he grabbed my arm harshly and led me out of the doors.**

"ALLY! Snap out of it!" Trish yelled into my ear causing me to come back to reality. I quickly looked at Cassidy to see her silent and moving. But the tears were still rolling down her face.

No. No. _No_. I quickly ran over to her and knelt beside her. "Hey, look it's okay alright?" I comforted.

"I'm getting Austin"

"**NO! **Don't do that we can handle this ourselves" I shouted glaring at Trish for bringing it up in the first place.

"We obviously can't Ally! Look at her! She's a mess!" This only fuelled my anger and shocks me more. I weren't thinking this through very thoroughly.

"We? You're the one who brought this entire thing up. You're the one that wanted to play Truth or Dare!"

"I didn't cause all - "

"Hey hey what's going on?!" The door slammed open and we all looked to see a sleepy Dez in the doorway. He looked at Cassidy's streaming face to Trish's red one. His eyes grew wide and for some odd reason he looked scared. "What the hell happened?!"

Trish was obviously very tired at this point as she threw her hands in the air and stepped out to get her coat. "That's it. I've had it! I'm going!" She grabbed the car keys off of the table and opened the door. "This night has been a complete disaster!"

"Babe, can you please tell me what happened?" Dez reasoned with her

"Don't call me babe. I've absolutely had it! I knew leaving you in a few weeks' time would be hard enough -" suddenly, it was like a light flickered through her head as it looked like reality hit her._ Hard._"I won't even be here in a couple weeks' time so why do even you care?!"

I lost track of their argument when I saw an angry looking Austin at the door. My mouth went dry as it opened and closed like a fish. I tried my best to give him an explanation but what was I supposed to say? I couldn't take care of anything at all. My life was a huge train wreck; I was still trying to get over the fact that Cassidy and _Ryan..._

"Cassidy can you give us a minute?" He halted my thoughts as he squeezed his jaw and fist firmly.

She only sniffed in response and quickly scrambled from the floor. Giving me one last guilty look, she left. "Do you want to tell me what happened? What did I say Ally? I told you to watch her!"

"Don't you dare blame this on _me_, Okay?! I tried. And last time I checked I wasn't your babysitter!"

"Well then why didn't you just leave, huh? It would've all done us a favor!"

Ouch. That one hurt.

"Why do you even care? Early today you were talking like she was the worst thing in your life and-" I cut myself short no really knowing what to say. Suddenly tears swelled up in my eyes as I looked back down at the floor. But my sadness was quickly replaced by anger. I looked back up to Austin to see worry written all over his face, probably regretting what he just said. "Do you want to know why I didn't leave? Hmm? I'll tell you. I did it for you okay!"

I pointed my finger in his chest accusing him and quickly ran back out of his bedroom towards the door. I heard Austin's words of regret coming from the door but I ignored them and grabbed the door handle.

"Ally? What's up?" A meek voice came from the corner. I turned to see a curled up Cassidy sat on the couch.

"Not right now Cassidy" I gave her a small smile and glanced to the side to see Austin begin to follow me.

"You're still coming to my party right?" Her voice sounded so hopeful. "You've been really nice and erm..."

"Not like Trish?" I managed another smile. "I'll think about it. Promise." I told her. "But hey, it will get better okay? I know it will"

With that I opened the door and quickly made my way out. I didn't have time to see her face knowing already it was probably as confused as my feelings. I slammed the door behind me only to hear it open again. Everything was blowing way out of proportion way too fast for a _vacation._

"Ally! Wait" I instantly closed my eyes silently cursing under my breath. I turned round to face his pained face and it was like a bullet to the heart.

"What do you have to say Austin?" I replied getting tired of all the arguments.

"What do you mean that you did it for me?" He asked with fake confusion pretending he didn't know.

"It meant I like you, you idiot!" He looked shocked at my sudden outburst. "But no it doesn't matter! Because I'm not Cassidy. It doesn't matter that I got hurt by the same guy does it?! That I was scared to wake up each and every morning just because I had to see _him!" _My eyes instantly grew wide as I realized what I just admitted to him. His jaw hit the ground and his gorgeous brown orbs had something in them I'd never seen in them before._ Danger._

He was defiantly angry. Finally, it was getting to much when I couldn't stop the tears that started streaming down my face.

**God, wait to go Ally. Make an even bigger fool of yourself.**

"Ally! Hold up! Wait!" I heard his constant pleas behind me but I just ran. That's all I ever did. Run. His voice got further and further away as I ran down the beach. I knew the way home by now so I just carried on.

15 minutes later.

"Trish? Are you back?" I called out as I reached the apartment.

Silence.

"Trish?"

I opened the bedroom door to see Trish and a box of tissues lay out across the bed. "Trish? Are you okay?" I asked trying to be comforting. She shook her head silently and I wrapped my arms around her back. "Oh Trish"

"We broke up Ally" my eyes grew wide understandably as I spoke. "Trish I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. I broke it off with him. And I'm sorry about before" my face changed into confusion as I asked the only question on my mind.

"That doesn't matter right now. Why did you do it?"

"I think he likes that Cassidy girl. Plus in the next two weeks I'll have to break it off with him anyway. I thought if I did it now, it would be less painful"

"You think he likes Austin's ex?" She only nodded obviously too upset to carry on talking.

This holiday has been a nightmare is far. The only question that was on my mind now is...

What the hell is going to happen at this party?

**A/N : I know, I know. I was the worst person ever for leaving you with that cliffhanger. Especially all summer. But there has been a lot of family stuff going on at summer and the computer kind of broke so...**

**I'm at school now and we have this homework timetable (stupid I know) so we get at least one piece a day. And I will be choosing my subjects this year as well. So there is a lot to think about. In other words I don't know when I will be updating but I have already started writing the next chapter. And I want to make the next one long so hopefully it will be worth the wait.**

**And you know the rest. Review? **

**Thanks**

**artistxxx**


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